Step Forward
by Junibyou
Summary: You're a new student to Otonokizaka. You're given several paths to follow with your new life. Which way will you go?
1. Prologue 1 - Cool Touch

**A/N** : Hello. It's nice to meet you. Thank you for your interest in this story. It's a second person narrative with a female reader inserted.

I started writing this concept a while ago but never had the courage to continue. But because μ's is ending and there's a lot of heartbreak, I wanted to have one final moment with them. To have good feelings from all of their personalities.

I tried my best with the prologue. I'll work harder to write a couple more and then continue with the actual story. Please enjoy.

* * *

Maki slams her hand beside your head, startling you and trapping you against the classroom wall. You shut your eyes, holding your bag tightly as if it'll do something to save you from this situation. You can barely hear Maki's heavy breathing over your rapid heartbeat. You couldn't stand to look at her fierce glare anymore, not to mention that she was standing way too close for comfort.

You start thinking of all things you may have done that have led to this point. Maybe you bothered her too much? You came by the music room too often? The fear rises in your chest. A couple tears leak from your eyes but you're too scared to wipe them away, trembling as you try to hold the rest back.

You flinch upon the feeling of a hand on your shoulder. You brace yourself for the worst, but nothing comes after a few seconds. You open your eyes just a bit and see a look of… regret?

Maki has a different vibe from a few moments ago. It's more gentle, more distant. She stares at your face before fumbling for her handkerchief in her pocket.

"S— Sorry." She stutters as she hands it to you. You take it carefully, lightly dabbing away your tears as her violet eyes dart away from you. "I just… I'm confused, so that makes me angry."

Huh? "Confused about what?"

A light red tinge spreads on her face before she speaks again. "Uh… How I…" Maki steps away and clears her throat, the blush on her face increasing in brightness. Your heartbeat calms down a little but still hurts from how hard it's beating.

Maki paces a little back and forth. It's a bit confusing to see her so conflicted. Her arms are crossed tightly. She unfolds them, crosses them again, and turns away from you to grab at her hair.

You can hear her mumbling. It escalates from a frustrated tone back down to something of worry. She turns back around to face you but looks down. Her eyes dart back and forth as if the tiles on the floor had something to tell her. What could she possibly be bothered by? Maki wasn't a very honest person but if it involves you, she would tell you, right? You were here for a reason! You can feel your stomach doing flips from how much thinking you're putting into this.

You step forward, reaching a hand out to her. "Nishikino-san? Are you okay?"

She turns back around to you with her head lowered, worrying you a bit. But when she shoots back up with that frightening glare in her eyes, it makes you jump out of your skin. "You annoy the hell out of me! You're everywhere I go!"

"Sorry!" You squeak out immediately, burying your face in your bag. "I'm really sorry! I know I'm a nuisance!"

"But it's not that!" You're slammed against the wall again but it has a harder impact than last time. "I want you there and I don't at the same time! I don't get it!"

* * *

"Form is extremely important. The improper form can lead to injury and/or an inaccurate shot." Umi demonstrates by pulling back her arrow and shooting directly at the center of the target. "Archery takes lots of practice, concentration, and strength. Will you be able to handle it?"

"Um…" You rub your hand over your arm, unsure about these events. "Well, I could at least try. A club like this feels nice."

"Right. Well, I won't let you touch a real bow and arrow for now, so let's just practice with a hypothetical one." She pulls back another arrow gracefully, motioning for you to imitate her. You do so, watching her shoot another arrow at the center.

Umi exhales softly, looking at you. She studies your uniform and form, clicking her tongue and placing her bow down. "You're a little off balance. Let me help you." She steps forward and adjusts your arms accordingly. "You must hold the bow with confidence. Otherwise, you won't be able to hit the target."

You nod in understanding. She steps back and crosses her arms, studying your figure once more. "I'm sure that with more practice, you'll be able to use a bow perfectly. That's enough for today." You relax your arms and sigh, looking at the arrows that jut out of the targets. Will you really be able to do this?

You step forward to Umi, adjusting your uniform a bit to get more comfortable. You move carefully, not used to the smooth floor. "Thank you very much for this, Sonoda-sa—"

You slip anyways. Fantastic.

Even if you were prepared to fall, Umi catches you with ease and because of that, you can feel her muscles tighten around you as she assures that you're safe. They're strong but comforting and warm. You can feel her heartbeat, how you're melting into her touch.

You force yourself to break away though in hopes of it not being awkward. As much as you wanted to stay in her arms forever, to stay in a blue ocean paradise, you couldn't possibly do such a thing. It was just a reflex most likely.

"Ah, sorry… Thank you very much." You mumble quietly, twiddling your fingers. You feel too embarrassed about what just happened to say or do anything more.

"It's not a problem. Please don't apologize, I understand that this environment is very new to you." Umi smiles at you gently. That break away from her usual stoic expression made you realize why she receives tons of love letters daily. That short moment of such a wonderful expression seems to have opened up a new world to you. It makes your heart beat a little faster.

It reminds you of a gentle wave washing on the shore.

* * *

You're way too nervous about your first time on class duty. You filled out what you could in the class log. "Everyone cleaned excellently, today's lesson went smoothly," things like that went into the blank spaces. You weren't sure about some other things though. You were even too nervous about filling out the "Impressions of the day" part.

You're on your way to the student council. The student council president in your old school was useless so you had someone else fill out the rest for you. But maybe this time, you can get proper help. You scan the labeled signs above the doors.

You bump into someone while spacing out. You immediately fumble an apology and bow your head low.

"Err, it's my fault for not paying attention…" The person's voice is soft, comforting. They're trying to speak over your quick apologies. "Please stand up straight. It's fine."

After calming you down, the person introduces herself. Her name is Ayase Eli and she's the student council president. She was taking a short walk for a break.

She brings you to the student council room. She has you sit down at the table by the door, guiding you through the log.

"You write out what has happened in the classroom here." Eli pushes up against you, pointing at the spot on the sheet. "This sheet is supposed to summarize the day's events and how the class has progressed."

You're listening but you have trouble concentrating. The student council president is very beautiful and you can't keep calm if she keeps getting too close. And her face is…

"Do you have any more questions?"

Her smooth and gentle voice is amplified from how close she is to you. You can feel yourself heating up but you shake your head lightly. "I think I understand."

"I'm glad. Well, if you run into anything else you don't understand, be sure to tell me. It's the duty of the student council president to help the students." She pats your shoulders and walks back to her seat. You can't help but notice her beautiful figure, making your face even redder. Eli is reliable, gorgeous, smart.

"She's ten times better than your last student council president." The thought swirls around in the back of your mind.

Spontaneous human combustion isn't possible, right? You're starting to doubt that from how warm your face feels.

* * *

 **A/N** : I'm glad that you've endured this enough to make it to the end. I'd like to explain some things before you continue on.

I want to clarify that this story is about a 15 year old female that transfers into Otonokizaka but you, the reader, experience her life as if it was your own. I wanted to make her as bland as possible so I could use her as a punching bag. My intentions for this story are light hearted. I don't plan to do anything more than give the reader good feelings with their favorite characters.

Thank you very much for your time. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

 **10/27/15 edit** : Added a little more to Maki's prologue.


	2. Prologue 2 - Pure Heart

**A/N** : Second prologue because a friend suggested that I do this.

* * *

"You chop up the vegetables in large chunks so the flavor can come out more." Hanayo instructs you as she chops up large chunks of carrots. You nervously try to imitate her, the knife in your hand shaking. She notices and gently pats your arm. "It's okay. You won't mess up. Just cut it into large pieces."

You look at her helplessly, not knowing where to start cutting. Hanayo gives you a gentle smile and puts her hand over yours, raising your knife over the orange vegetable.

"Cut random chunks. Any kind will be fine." She pushes down, chopping one bulky piece off.

"I― Is there any other job I could do?" You stutter out. Hanayo glances over to Maki who's already gotten her work done and to Rin who's just waiting for the food to be finished.

"Hurry up. It's not a big deal." Maki twists her hair in between her fingers, huffing angrily. "Just do what Hanayo says."

Her words hurt despite them being so simple. Cutting the vegetables is incredibly easy but even you can't do it according to your classmates. You put down the knife and lower your head. "I'm sorry for being a nuisance."

Hanayo holds your hand gently, her voice light and calming. "Don't say something like that. It's going to be okay. You're not a bother. You're just having trouble since it's your first time cooking like this."

When you look her in the eyes, it feels as if the world has stopped. "I'm sure you will do fine. I believe in you." Her smile gives you a warm feeling. It's like the transition into the season of spring. "Now, let's continue with what we were doing. It'll be okay if you mess up."

"... Thank you."

* * *

The stinging sensation in your leg won't go away but you're sure you can still go on.

When you moved to transfer in Otonokizaka, you discovered that the neighborhood is a lot safer than your previous one. You decided to go for a late night walk by a park to enjoy this new feeling of relief. However, a rustling in the bushes scared you out of your skin, causing you to run and trip and skin your knee. And also realize that the rustling was just a stray cat.

You hiss lightly when a wind blows by, intensifying the stinging on your knee. You curse your inability to tolerate this kind of pain and continue hobbling back home. You decide in the back of your mind to strengthen your courage for when you walk alone at night.

"Ah, hey! Excuse me!"

The sudden voice startles you. A chill runs down your spine as you hobble a little faster, hoping that voice wasn't for you.

"Excuse me! The person that's limping, can you hear me?"

Dang it!

You turn to the source of the noise and you swear your life flashed before your eyes as you witness an angel.

There's a young girl standing just below a street lamp, her pastel colored clothes illuminated from the light. Her eyes are bright and hold concern, the grip on her bag seems tight. Your feeling of endangerment immediately disappears upon the sight of her. You stumble over so she doesn't have to strain her wonderful voice.

"Sorry for not responding faster. I just want to go home." You laugh nervously, hoping to play off your scraped knee and ridiculous actions.

The girl glances at you and your knee. Her lips twitch a little, as if she wants to say something but can't figure out what.

You raise your knee a little. "Are you worried about this? It's not a problem. I just tripped."

You notice some red lining on your wound and it appears that the girl has also.

"It _is_ a problem! Even if you don't think so!" She squeaked out and brought you over to a bench, digging through her bag for something.

You contemplate why fate causes you to injure yourself and have others help you. You also wonder why they all happen to be pretty girls with big hearts and convenient items needed for the situation.

"Ah!" The beige-haired girl pulls out a small packet and a bandage, tearing open the packet first as she crouches by your knee. "I'm glad I kept these with me..." She mumbles to herself as she pulls out what seems to be a wet cloth.

You jump a little when she holds your hand with hers, giving you a bright smile. "It's going to sting, okay? Squeeze my hand as hard as you want if it hurts too much."

You aren't sure why you suddenly appreciate this pain now.

When the cloth lightly dabs at the small amount of blood on your knee, you hiss again and squeeze her hand as instructed, but not as hard as you usually would. She seemed too precious and you wouldn't want to hurt her. You endure as much as you can as she cleans up your wound. You also feel a light emptiness as she releases your hand to use the bandage.

After patching up your knee, she smiles even brighter than before. "All done!" The girl kisses her fingertips and taps your bandage with them, causing your face to immediately turn a bright red.

"A good luck charm for it to heal faster!" She stands up and smooths out her skirt. You try to look away as your heartbeat rings in your ears.

You mumble, "Thank you very much, miss." Her giggle doesn't help you calm down.

"It's not a problem. You just seemed in pain so I had to help." She reaches out a hand for you to shake. She makes direct eye contact with you as you look up, sending a sharp pang to your chest as her eyes soften. "My name is Minami Kotori."

You hesitate to shake her hand but when you do, you feel like you've touched really soft bird feathers. It's a different feeling from earlier. "It's nice to meet you. Thank you for helping me, my knee feels a lot better. My name is―"

A car honks their horn loudly as you say your name and you silently hope that Kotori heard. You can see a blank look in her eyes that indicates she didn't, but she smiles regardless.

"I'm glad that I could help you."

* * *

You're pulled into a tight embrace, almost knocking you breathless. The sudden action surprised you enough for you to drop your bag.

You struggle under her grip. "Tojo-san, please―"

"That's enough."

You flinch when Nozomi puts a hand on your head but relax a bit when she gives light strokes.

"There, there..." Her other hand rubs against your back, along your spine. "It's going to be okay. Things will get better soon."

Thought it was nice, you couldn't enjoy it. Your fear of your situation keeps gnawing at the back of your mind. You can't do anything else. "No, I'm fine, really! I have to go back and―"

"Shh." Nozomi puts your head in the crook of her neck, giving your forehead a light kiss. "I know that you're tired. I know that you're trying your best. Just relax for now. Nothing bad will happen if you take a moment for yourself."

Your heart stops. Your body goes limp, all of the exhaustion from the past few months slowly catching up to you. Her words sink in and hit you where it hurts.

"But I have to―"

"No, you don't."

Nozomi hugs you tighter. "You don't have to do this. What you need to do is relax. I know that you're struggling and you don't want to bother anyone."

She releases you and holds your face, holding direct eye contact with you with her gentle and kind expression. "You should rely on others every now and then. Be honest about how you feel. Things will be okay." Nozomi pulls you back into an embrace and runs her fingers through your hair.

It's calming you down. You couldn't help but close your eyes and indulge in this new feeling. The warmth she gives you is more than you could ever ask for.

You couldn't stop your tears from falling.

* * *

 **A/N** : Thank you for reading this far. I hope you've enjoyed this very much.


	3. Prologue 3 - Smile Big

**A/N** : It's difficult to understand the Idiot Trio and what they do.

* * *

You adjust your clothes a bit, trying to make sure you look alright. It's your first time out in the open during the day in your new neighborhood.

You let out a deep sigh. You've been walking for half an hour. There's not many people around and the weather is a bit warm. You should probably go home and have a snack to relax.

You turn around to start your walk back but you're stopped by a person in a bright blue jersey blocking your path.

"Ah, Transfer Student!" Rin shouts cheerfully, jogging in place. "What are you doing here?"

You explain that you were just taking a walk and was about to go home, but Rin stops her jog and gasps loudly.

"Wait, wait, wait! You can nyat go home yet!"

"Huh?"

"I have to show you this thing! Come with me!"

Rin grabs your hand and runs through the park nearby. You struggle to keep up, almost tripping over your own feet, but you're able to run right behind Rin with the help of her strong grip on you.

When she stops, you're extremely worn out. You're gasping for air as Rin stands beside you with her hands in her jersey pockets, not a single bead of sweat on her. Her cat-like grin stays on her face as you try not to die from exhaustion.

"This is what I wanted to show nya." She says casually as she gently pats you on the back.

You raise your head to face a sparkling fountain. You're confused as to why Rin found this so fascinating.

Rin doesn't fail to notice your expression and explains, "It's really pretty and I thought you'd like this kind of pretty thing. It reminds me of you."

You can feel a bit of heat reaching your cheeks and that's not from exercising more than you ever did in your 15 years of life. "How?"

"Well..." Rin kicks at a little pebble on the ground. She starts to shrink a bit, her collar hiding her chin. "It's really simple but still really pretty. You can pass by it every day but you can still sit down to appreciate it, if that makes any sense..."

She pauses. "I'm nyat good at explaining these things. It just makes me think of you whenever I run by here."

You're not sure what kind of feeling is in your chest right now but you don't want it to go away.

You give her a smile and her goofy grin makes you feel warm.

* * *

"Otonokizaka is a wonderful school with many opportunities!" Honoka slammed the door to the rooftop open. The loud noise startled you because you were so focused on her words. "Even those who start with almost nothing like our school idol group μ's, we can reach for the stars! We can do anything!"

She ran into the bright sunlight, spinning around with such a dazzling aura that left you amazed.

"Don't feel sad about little things like failing a test or not being good at something! If you really want to, you can do it!" Honoka beamed at you, her bright eyes sparkling with such intensity. You step out onto the rooftop in almost a daze.

That seemed to satisfy Honoka. She spread her arms wide, the cool wind blowing as she inhaled deeply for her next line.

"You can fly!"

You stare at her, unable to form words. There's a swelling in your chest. You're sure that it's joy. It's giving you a feeling of hope, that anything is possible. All because of these few words spoken from this exact person. No one else could have the same effect.

You want to reach out for that bright orange sun not too far from you.

* * *

"You have to be honest about how you feel!" Nico barked angrily, her red eyes wide with anger. "You can't keep letting yourself be treated this way!"

Her hand tightens around your wrist. It hurts. The previous situation combined with Nico's yelling and aggressive actions isn't helping you feel better in the slightest.

"Stand up for yourself! Stop letting people like Maki push you around!"

The mentioning of her name is bringing you to tears. You start to tremble and you can't stop. Your body starts to ache from how much everything hurts.

Nico doesn't fail to notice this. She stops yelling immediately, her enraged expression being replaced with a look of sympathy. She loosens her grip on you. You take this moment to wipe your tears away before they start falling.

"Just..." The tiny third year steps closer and hugs you tightly. "Do something... At least tell yourself that you're not worthless and a burden on others."

You're at a loss for words. Even if you wanted to say something, you couldn't from how choked up you were getting. Nico rubs your back, reminding you of a mother comforting her child.

"You have worth. You can be strong. You can stand back up even when everyone seems to be pushing you down." Nico pauses for a moment and then sighs. "It's going to be okay."

* * *

 **A/N** : When Nico's words of encouragement sound like something she'd tell herself when her world was falling apart.

I had a lot of trouble doing this prologue. These three are always shining so brightly, it's hard to capture those kinds of feelings in a short random scenario. I hope I did even the slightest amount of justice for them. I also need to apologize that this prologue is shorter than the other two. It was difficult trying to get good enough ideas for these three balls of sunshine.

Thank you for enduring this far. Let's look forward to a bright first chapter.


	4. Chapter 1 - First Encounter

You slowly take each step, shaking lightly as you walk towards the front doors. It's your first day at Otonokizaka. You transferred in a little late but that's fine. It's not too unusual. However, you're just so nervous about attending. You couldn't sleep well the night before. Your new uniform hasn't been broken in yet so it's too crisp for comfort. You don't know anyone in this school but the classes here were in your best interests. This transfer was for your education and future.

The grip on your bag tightens. The chatter of close friends surrounds you more and more. It feels as if the world is moving too fast and you can't keep up. The bright scene in front of you is starting to darken. You're so nervous that your steps start becoming slower and slower, your vision starting to become blurry.

And before you know it, you're down on the ground. It takes a while for you to register that you fell on your face, but not because of yourself. Someone had crashed into you. You're not sure if that was any better.

"Rin! I told you not to run so fast! You hurt someone!"

"I'm sorry, Maki-chan! Ah, I'm sorry stranger!"

You lift your head off the ground, feeling your nose pulsate a few times from the pain. You take some time to understand the situation and your surroundings.

You fell and it hurts, but not that bad. You dropped your bag but everything was zipped up so nothing was spilled. You shift your bangs away from your eyes, your head throbbing a bit.

You turn your head to see a first year with red hair yelling at another first year with orange hair. The third part of their group comes over to you and offers a hand.

"I'm sorry my friend did that to you. Can you stand?" Her nervous smile is almost angelic.

You nod. "I should be fine." You take her soft hand and stand up, wincing a little bit as some pain shoots in your right knee. It's scraped and it stings. A lot. You're at least thankful that you don't have a bloody nose.

The red haired girl stops yelling at the other person, staring at your injury. Her irritated look is replaced with light sympathy. "Is it really fine?"

"Yes, I'm sure I'm okay." You try to smile and stand straight but the trembling of your leg gives you away.

The girl sighs. "Come on, let's go to the nurse's office. Rin!" She turns to the orange haired girl. "You caused this, take responsibility!"

"Gotnya!" The one referred to as Rin hurries over and crouches with her back towards you. "Piggy back ride!"

You're confused and kind of embarrassed. You can feel stares coming your way. A gentle squeeze of your hand makes you turn to the girl that helped you up.

"Trust her. It's fine." She smiles again and it's enough to convince you. The girl seems very kind, there's no reason a person like her would have any malicious intent. A bit of heat came to your cheeks as you realized you were still holding her hand.

You let go and clumsily climb on the unknown girl's back. She lifts you up and starts walking into the building, the others in tow. You try to avoid eye contact with the people staring. You hope this ride will be over soon.

"Hey." The red haired one taps you with her bag. You notice she's carrying yours over her shoulder. "I'm Nishikino Maki. The one who ran into you is Hoshizora Rin. The one who helped you up is Koizumi Hanayo."

"Ah, nice to m- meet you..." Your voice cracks. What kind of sound did you just make?

You're tapped on your other shoulder and you turn to face the one named Hanayo. "Rin-chan was really energetic this morning and she couldn't help herself. I'm really sorry she hurt you."

"It's fine. I'll be okay." You smile weakly to reassure them. Her concerned look doesn't help. What kind of face did you just make? Do you look even remotely okay? You sigh and lean against Rin's shoulder, facing Maki.

"We'll clean your wound and bandage it. Class doesn't start for a little while, don't worry about being late." Maki's voice and expression is a little intimidating but the look in her eyes gives you a bit of comfort. Only a bit. "I haven't seen you before. Is it your first day here?"

You nod.

"Oh, geez..." Maki sighs and shakes her head.

"I'm really sorry! I'll make it up to you later for sure!" Rin wails. You hold onto her shoulders tightly in fear of falling off. A clean and pleasant smell wanders into your nose as you bring yourself a bit closer to her. In that quick second, you can only describe it as a clear starry night.

Hanayo steps forward and opens a door nearby, gesturing Rin and Maki to go inside. "The nurse doesn't seem to be here but the room's unlocked." She laughs nervously.

Rin brings you in and sets you on a chair, Maki bringing out supplies. You fidget a bit. They're going through all this trouble for your sake. Your heart beats a little faster due to feeling thankful and upset. These three have taken the time to care for you.

You look around at the nurse's office, the new scenario slowly being registered. It's similar to your old school but feels more... welcoming. The lighting's just a bit brighter. There's a cleaner air to it. It's not unsettling in the slightest. You hated being in the nurse's office but this one felt relieving.

You flinch at the stinging sensation on your knee. Maki was now cleaning it, unaffected by your reaction.

"Ah, thank you so much for everything." You blurt it out, deciding that it's now or never to show your appreciation. "I'm sorry that I have to put you through this."

"Huh?" Maki gives you an incredulous look. "We're the ones that hurt you and we're taking responsibility. Why are you apologizing? You haven't done anything wrong."

Did you heart just stop for a moment?

"Maki-chan," Hanayo called for her attention. "Rin-chan and I will head to the classroom to put all of our stuff away. Is it fine to leave you two alone?"

"Yeah. It's fine." She answers as she unrolls the bandage. "Thanks, Hanayo."

"We're going nyaow!" Rin calls out cheerfully, waving two bags as Hanayo takes her own and slides the door open. You see Rin open her mouth wide, about to speak, but she withdraws and just mutters, "Sorry, person." and leaves before Hanayo. It sends a slight pang to your chest from seeing such a sad expression on her face.

The door closes and the room is now dead silent, save for the sounds of the bandage being rolled over your knee. And the realization hits you. You're alone with someone intimidating. Seemingly kind but intimidating. What should you do after this? Thank her and leave as quickly as possible, or stick around? She's helping you because she's kind enough for that but she seems to have a scary expression on most of the time. Would it be fine if you asked why she bothered to take responsibility rather than simply apologizing?

"Are you alright?" Her cool voice snaps you back into reality. You must have been out of it for a while because you're patched up and the supplies are gone. What just happened?

You nod but the look on her face tells you she's not convinced. However, she doesn't question you further. "Anyways, I'm done. I'm going to touch it again now." Maki runs a couple fingers over your wound, applying light pressure. "Does it still hurt as bad?"

There's only a small amount of pain. Your knee almost itches a bit, even. "Not really. Thank you." And for once today, a genuine smile spreads across your face. The feelings of her concern reach you and you're truly thankful now.

You swear you saw a different kind of red on Maki before she hands you your bag, turning away. "You'll be okay. You should walk around and get to know where you're going and what class you'll be in. It doesn't start for a while but might as well be prepared."

When you took your bag back, Maki immediately left the room. You wonder again what just happened.

* * *

Your classroom turns out to be the same one as the three you've just met. Rin and Hanayo greet you when you enter but Rin is a little less cheerful. You're a bit worried and wonder if it's about the accident from earlier. Her remorse over it makes you believe she's a very kind person however.

Class doesn't start for about 45 minutes. You believe that you came too early but at least you have time to tour the school like Maki had said. Walking through the halls illuminated by the morning sun gives you a refreshing feeling.

You start to hear music the deeper you go in. It has a complex rhythm, fast and intense. You continue walking, trying to orient to the sound. It gets louder and you can feel the emotions that the player is putting forth. It draws you in like a spell. It reminds you of a certain type of experience, one that can't be achieved alone. It gives you a feeling of waves crashing during a passionate moment with a lover.

You stop just before a door when you come back for your daze. You notice it's the music room, which would obviously have music playing. You look into the window and see familiar red hair.

Maki is playing furiously on the beautiful grand piano. The tune starts to become familiar the more you listen. You close your eyes to embrace this moment, leaning on the door. You can feel the vibrations of the loud piano on the smooth surface. You feel as if there's a whole new world beyond this door, a world too beautiful for words.

You open your eyes when the tune suddenly stops. You look up and Maki's sharp gaze is directed towards you. It sends a chill down your spine. She motions for you to enter, which you do with hesitance.

"Excuse me for interrupting." You state as you slide the door behind you. You feel the need to be formal due to the girl's aura. You're not sure why, you just do. Maki gestures for you to come closer and you step near the piano. You can feel your feet getting lighter out of fear. Even if her intentions so far were well-meaning, Maki still had a frightening air around her.

"Did you like that?" You nod. "I'm glad. It's called Mermaid Festa, if you were wondering." With that, she continues playing without sparing you another word or glance. You take it as a sign to just listen.

Your first impression of her was a very strict and scary person. However, the melody she plays with her graceful hands tells a different story. The song at first sounds intimidating but you can feel how it's more of a gentle song with the passion of lovers tangled within. You wonder what was her inspiration for such a tune.

Maki stops playing suddenly and rests her hands upon the keys, a sorrowful look upon her face.

"Is something wrong?" You ask her quietly.

"Nothing. It's just..." She paused and sighed. "Someone else was watching me play a while ago. You being here reminded me of it."

You can't tell what kind of emotions she's feeling but you at least know that the person must mean a lot to her.

"Sorry." You mutter, stepping away from the piano.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." Maki says as she gazes upon the black and white keys of the grand piano. You don't believe her words but decide not to question her about it. She starts up a light melody, something more slow and calming. You close your eyes, taking in her smooth playing style.

You think that Maki is kind but can't properly express it.

* * *

You can feel your heart thudding in your chest. Though Maki's piano playing calmed you down, it didn't last long enough. You're standing in the hallway and you're waiting to be called in for introductions.

You're nervous. You practice reciting your name over and over in your head, hoping that you won't screw up. You're starting a new life in a new school with new classmates. You've already gotten to meet a few. You'll do fine. Hopefully.

"Please welcome our new transfer student." You hear the teacher calling. It's your cue to slide the door open and step in.

You take a deep breath and face the class. The aggressive stare from sharp violet eyes puts you off but you try to remain calm. You attempt a smile but an entire class' worth of eyes is freaking you out.

"It's nice to meet you all. My name is—"

A window shatters. Chaos starts to erupt from the sudden surprise, a soccer ball bouncing on the tile floor.

"Class! Remain calm! Everyone stay away from the broken glass!" The teacher tries to yell over the frantic students.

You start wondering if you're cursed or something because things like this happen only when you're around.

* * *

The lunch bell rings... you think. You swear that the time was much later than this but a few classmates seem to already be bringing out their lunches.

Even with little things like that, you realize that adjusting to this new life would be difficult. Otonokizaka seems like a place full of surprises. A ball crashed in through the window and a couple students were mildly injured, and you were there for only two minutes!

You sigh and pack your notes in your bag. They're incredibly messy from how difficult it was to keep up. Your hand kind of hurts, even.

You sling your bag over your shoulder and decide to walk around the school again. You only packed bread and juice for lunch today so it's not like your food will take much time to consume.

Otonokizaka has a much larger campus compared to your old one. There's healthier greenery, more students hanging around the courtyard, more places to sit and have lunch. You even saw a dark-haired third year sleeping under a tree. It seems both peaceful and lively (if you brush off the occasional accident).

You take a deep breath. The air is cleaner and feels much better. It's easier to breathe compared to your last school campus. The sky is brilliantly blue with small clouds decorating it. It's bright outside and feels refreshing.

You see a familiar hairstyle nearby. Light brown, short, simple but somewhat unique. You walk over to confirm if it's really who you think it is.

And it's Hanayo Koizumi. You're relieved. You walk over in her line of vision and wave. She waves back and tries to smile with her mouth full of rice. She reminds you of a hamster.

"I'm sorry to interrupt."

She swallows her food and shakes her head, not disturbed in the least. "It's fine, don't worry about it."

"Is it alright if I sit with you?"

"Yes, it's fine." Her smile is bright and reminds you of blooming sunflowers. You smile back and sit beside her, making sure that there's still a bit of space between the two of you.

You both eat your lunches quietly. You're nervous about starting a conversation because Hanayo seems to be more interested in her startlingly large portion of rice. You decide to wait until she's finished.

...

You can't.

"Excuse me!" You start speaking before you're able to properly think of anything else.

Hanayo turns to you, her eyes still full of joy from her rice. She tilts her head in confusion as you struggle to form a sentence, now captured by her adorable expression.

"Ah... I—" Your breath hitches in your throat when Hanayo continues to nibble on her rice ball. She's really, really cute.

"Want to hear something?" You nod, hoping that what she says will overshadow your awkwardness. "Maki-chan always tells me to say what's on my mind because nothing good comes from staying silent. How about you do the same?"

Your heart skips a beat at her never ending smile. You take a deep breath. "Thank you for helping me this morning. I'm glad to have met someone so nice."

Hanayo seemed surprised at what you said. Maybe she was expecting something else. Regardless of what she thought it was going to be, she smiled. "It's not a problem."

* * *

It's after school now. You're ready to go home, exhausted from the day's activities. Otonokizaka is certainly more rigorous than your previous school and on top of that, you've had a chaotic morning. You sigh as you zip up your bag and sling it over your shoulder. You turn to walk towards the door but you're stopped by a person blocking your path. Rin, specifically.

"Oh, hello—"

"Let's go get ramen!"

"Huh?"

Rin fidgets with her fingers a bit. She shakes her head and gives you a determined expression, which frightens you due to how close she was. "I'm nyat happy that I hurt you today, so I need to make it up to you!" She huffs in assurance. You laugh nervously, thrown off by the sudden invitation.

"Um, I don't really eat right after school..." Your voice trails off and your eyes go to the floor. You're hoping that Rin would at least give you some breathing space.

Rin crosses her arms and tilts her head, thinking. Her face scrunches up in a slightly disturbed way. She steps back to sway around, deep in thought. It's cute.

You can almost feel the lightbulb popping over her head when she jumps and exclaims, "Arcade! We can go to the arcade!"

She scoots in even closer than before but the sparkle in her eyes makes it bearable. You laugh and agree to go, inflicted by her energy.

Rin bounces around with glee, attracting a bit of attention. She pushes her bag strap as high as she could on her shoulder and grabs your hand tightly. The world seemed to slow down for a moment when you realized how soft it was.

"Let's go nyaow!" She shouted, dashing off with you in tow.

* * *

You try to regain whatever oxygen you could, holding onto the thick red bar as Rin happily dances on the game pad by herself. You struggle to stand when Rin stomps on the left and right arrows, finishing the song with a cute pose.

"Undefeated, nya!" She shouts cheerfully, a sparkly S rank popping up on the screen. She crouches down by you as you collapse on the cold metal. "Wanna take a break?" She reaches out her hand.

You nod and take it, feeling a bit revived. You give her a smile. Her bright energy is so pure that you couldn't feel upset about anything that happened earlier.

You're feeling a lot better, your previous exhaustion just wiped away. "Thank you for this." You give Rin's hand a light squeeze.

Rin has a small tint of red on her face. Her eyes are fixated on your hand still in hers. After a moment, she snaps back into reality and gasps. "Juice!"

"Juice?"

"You're tired, aren't you? I'll go get you some juice! Sit somewhere!" Rin dashes off immediately and leaves you alone with her bag.

You're confused but decide to go along with it. You sling your bag strap over your shoulder and take Rin's bag in your arms. It gives off a bit of a fruity perfume-like smell. It makes you feel relaxed.

You walk around the arcade, lost. You think that your interrupted introduction had something to do about Rin not knowing that you're new to the area. But eventually you see a bright part of the arcade surrounded by vending machines filled with colorful cans and bottles.

You walk in and don't see Rin anywhere. The benches are empty so you could at least sit down. You're hoping that she would come back soon. Being alone in a new area that you're unfamiliar with doesn't exactly sound safe. You sigh and run a fingernail over the zipper on Rin's bag. You notice the red, yellow, and green pins on it. They're only small colored pins but they're cute. Maybe they mean something.

"I'll Rin-Rin-Ring a bell as a small signal!" You can hear a familiar voice singing with glee behind you. You jump out of your seat when something cold touches the back of your neck.

You turn to face Rin who's holding a small red bottle, an orange cat plush with a green collar in her arms. She hands you the bottle and you take it, the label making you a little confused.

"Uh..."

"I hit the button for this on accident, nya."

You look down at the bottle of cola. The colors from all her items were...

"Maki-chan told me to stop wasting the drinks if I choose the wrong thing." Rin looked down at the plush and played with its paw, a blank smile on her face.

"Nishikino-san..." You mumble, placing her bag and the cola down. You remember Hanayo saying something about Maki earlier too. You believe the three have a close friendship. You look at the cat plush, confused about its appearance. "Where did you..."

"Oh!" Rin gasped and held it up to your face. "This is for you! To make up for what happened this morning."

She pushes it forward, making its mouth come into contact with yours. "Nya."

Although it's slightly embarrassing, you start laughing at the little gesture. You give the cat plush a pat on the head and a kiss back. Rin blushes but laughs nonetheless.

It warms your heart.

"Thank you."

* * *

 **A/N** : Two months of working on this and it's still not good enough in my standards.

I was thinking about the purpose of this fanfic. Why do I bother writing this? Why am I trying so hard to make this into something great? And then I thought, "Because girls who like girls are the best."

Thank you for reading this far. Let's hope the next chapter will be better.


	5. Chapter 2 - Second Chance

You stretch your arms over your head, groaning loudly and yawning afterwards.

It's been a couple weeks since you've transferred into Otonokizaka. The school's work is far more advanced than your previous one. It's been difficult to keep up because all of your classes are paced so quickly. You haven't decided on joining any clubs nor do you know what to do for your career. You've mainly been blending in the background, struggling in silence.

You're wandering the school halls alone. Because classes have already ended a little while ago, there weren't many students inside the building. It gave you some time to think.

You're not sure if you should stay in Otonokizaka. You seem to be falling behind in studies and you don't believe you're skilled enough to join any clubs. You stop by a window looking out towards the track club and sigh. You see a runner trip and skid across the ground, but immediately get up and laugh it off. You would never have the strength to handle something like that, to be hurt but still try afterwards.

You consider going back to your old school since Otonokizaka doesn't seem to be working for you.

You feel a tap on your shoulder. You turn and see a ginger-haired girl with a side ponytail smiling at you. She's apparently a second year according to her ribbon. "Feeling down?"

"A little." You shrug.

"You're a new student to Otonokizaka, right? A first year?" You nod. Her smile doesn't fade in the slightest. "Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Kousaka Honoka. Can I ask what you're sad about?"

You're taken aback by her question. Did you seem so disturbed that a stranger had to ask you what's wrong? You try waving her off. "No, it's not a big deal. I shouldn't trouble you-"

"Just tell me." She leans against the wall and crosses her arms. Her pose is kinda cool. Her blue eyes are serious but her smile is still kind. "It's important to me that everyone in this school has a good time."

You scratch your head unsure of the situation but decide to tell her anyways. "It's just that I don't think Otonokizaka is a school for me."

"What!?" Honoka yells, startling you. She grabs at her hair, looking at you as if you suddenly grew another arm. "No way! You can't think that!"

You're terribly frightened now.

Honoka grabs your hands, looking deep in your eyes with a very determined expression. "Come with me! I have to show you everything about Otonokizaka!" She dashes off with you in tow and you struggle to keep up with her sudden burst of energy.

* * *

"Otonokizaka is a wonderful school with many opportunities!" Honoka slammed the door to the rooftop open. You're wheezing from trying to keep up with her, your heartbeat thudding loudly in your ears. You tried to listen to everything she said as you two ran but it was difficult.

"Even those who start with almost nothing, we can reach for the stars here! We can do anything!" She ran into the setting sun's light, spinning around with such a dazzling aura that left you amazed. "Don't feel sad about little things like falling behind in class! If you really want to, you can do it!" Honoka beamed at you, her bright eyes sparkling with such intensity. You step out onto the rooftop in almost a daze, your exhaustion fading away quickly.

That seemed to satisfy Honoka. She spread her arms wide, the cool wind blowing as she inhaled deeply for her next line.

"You can fly!"

You stare at her, unable to form words. There's a swelling in your chest. You're not sure what these overwhelming feelings mean but you don't want them to go away. Her smile, her confidence, everything about her somehow lifted you up from your moment of sadness.

You want to reach out for that orange sun in front of you.

* * *

It's the Friday after that meeting. You feel a little more revived and encouraged to work harder. You decided that today you'll search around for clubs to join.

Today, everyone was trying to recruit new members. Each club has their own booth decorated with bright and fun posters, cute drawings doing activities that represent them.

You're walking around alone. You see things like the Robot Club, Track and Field Club, and... the Amusement Club? They caught your attention for a moment but you didn't feel like joining any of them.

You overhear a conversation when you stop walking.

"Hurry up, Sonoda-san! It's good advertising!"

"I can't do this! It's embarrassing!"

You turn to the source of the noise and are greeted with the sight of a... warrior?

A girl with beautiful long midnight blue hair is pushed out in the open. She's wearing an odd warrior-like outfit, coupled with a bow and arrow to match. Her midriff is exposed and the sight instantly captures your attention. You're incredibly embarrassed but you couldn't take your gaze off her. She's trying to cover up and her expression is really, really cute.

You must have been staring long enough because another girl with a third year ribbon suddenly pops up in front of you with a flier. "Are you interested in the Archery Club because of her? You'll join because she's so cool, right? Right!?" She's very enthusiastic and it mildly freaks you out. You're too scared to form a proper response.

"Hey, stop it!" The blue-haired girl forces her back. She gives you a look of concern and tries to calm you down. "I'm sorry about that. We just need new members this year. You don't have to join if you don't want to."

Something about those golden eyes made you feel hypnotized. Her voice is gentle and soothing, entrancing almost. "I'll... join." Words leave your lips before you realize it.

"Really!?" The girl yells and is smacked on the shoulder by a second year that appeared behind her, a stack of fliers in her arms.

The warrior-like girl smiles at you and takes the flier out of her hands, slowly handing it to you to not startle you. "Thank you and welcome to the Archery Club. I'm Sonoda Umi. Pleased to meet you."

Your heart skips a beat from how charming she was.

* * *

You've joined the archery club but now you don't know what to do.

It's Monday. You were told that a meeting will be held in two weeks to discuss the club's activities and the members will provide demonstrations. You're a little nervous. It's after school so you decided to drop by the club to have an early sneak peak.

The building is a little far from the main building. You approach it cautiously, knowing that archery takes a lot of focus and little noises especially can break that. You peek your head in through the doorway.

You see Umi gracefully pulling back her arrow. She doesn't move for a few seconds and lets the arrow fly. The targets were out of your line of vision so you step in a little further, noticing the several arrows that jut out of the target's center.

You give a quick scan of the area. Umi seems to be the only one here practicing. You're confused as to why that is. But pushing that aside, it warms your heart to know that she's dedicated to these activities. You believe that she's very strong and cool and it kinda makes your heart skip a beat.

"Oh, are you here for the club?"

The voice startles you enough for you to drop your bag on the floor, causing a loud noise to echo through the empty area. You turn to the source of the noise, facing a confused third year. You're immediately flustered for disturbing the peace in the room, tripping over your words. "S- Sorry! I'm really sorry!"

A third year walks around you, giving you an odd look. "You have nothing to apologize for though? If anything, you look like you need help. No offense." The short-haired girl picks up your bag and hands it back to you. "Why are you apologizing?"

"Ah..." You can feel your cheeks heating up quickly. You try your best to think of an excuse. "I... came here to see what the club is like before everyone else. That's why I'm apologizing."

The third year makes a sound of understanding then turns to the blue-haired archer. "Sonoda-san, because the first official meeting won't be for a couple weeks, the other members have decided they won't be attending this week. You don't have to practice." She turns to you. "Sorry, first year. You're out of luck here."

"... I see." Umi lowers her bow to her side, an air of despair starting to cling to her shoulders.

The third year immediately notices the air around her and turns back to Umi. "W— Well, you could show this first year around for this week! She seems excited about the club! Right?" She looks at you for confirmation. You nod your head even if that wasn't entirely true.

"Great! Sonoda-san, you could practice while showing this girl the ropes." The dark haired girl pulls you to her side and gives you a pat on the head. "Welcome to the archery club! Your guide will be Sonoda Umi!"

You don't know what to say. You nod in response. She seems satisfied with that and leaves you with Umi.

Umi, a little offput from the sudden pressure, gestures for you to enter further into the club room.

You're not feeling as nervous as you did before.

* * *

"Does it feel tight?"

"No, I don't think so."

"I'm going to make it loose on your waist for now."

Umi helps you put on a spare uniform, adjusting it and constantly asking you if it's too tight or too loose. You're a bit embarrassed from how close she is and this air around her is much different from when you first saw her. She must take archery very seriously. You start to admire her a lot for that. You're also admiring the way she had perfectly memorized the way to tie the uniform. You're not sure if you'll ever be able to do that.

You feel a pat on your waist. "There. This is the uniform. Follow me to the shooting range and I'll show you the equipment."

It's difficult to keep up with Umi due to not wearing shoes and walking on the smooth wooden surface. You're afraid of slipping and falling even if only she sees you. Umi seems to take notice and patiently waits for you as you slowly shuffle towards her. She's very kind.

When you're by her side, she gives you a three-fingered glove. "This is my glove. You can try it if you'd like."

You slip it on and hold the glove where the strap should. You try to move your fingers around, struggling with the thumb. Umi chuckles. "It's a hard glove. That's just my preference because I've practiced for so long. You should get a soft glove to allow more movement with your fingers."

You laugh a bit and give it back. "I probably should. I've never done something like this before. I know almost nothing about these things."

Another chuckle. "Well, I'm glad you're starting here. The upperclassmen have been complaining about lack of underclassmen. They'll be happy to teach you."

"I'm glad." You hesitate with your next sentence but decide to say it anyways. "Can I have you teach me though?"

"Huh?" Umi seems flustered from your request. "Eh? But I'm- I'm only a second year so maybe a third year should-"

"I feel more comfortable with you so if you could teach me, I'd be really happy!" You interrupt her before she can suggest anything else. You remember Hanayo's words about being more honest.

Umi's silent now. Her face is beet red and you can see a bit of sweat on her. Her eyes dart around the room and look at everything else except you. Eventually she just picks up her bow and arrows and resumes practice. You decide not to pressure her about it and decide to sit and watch her.

Her arrows are shot with grace and strength. You can see her controlling her breathing. She inhales deeply when she pulls the arrow back and lets it out slowly and quietly before it's released. It makes you feel relaxed just from seeing it.

After shooting about five or six arrows, she stops. Umi sighs and looks down at you. She sits down to face you on an equal level, takes a deep breath, and stares at you with a serious look in her eyes. You're a bit intimidated.

"If you truly want me as a teacher, you have to put your heart and soul into your activities. You cannot give anything less. Are you ready for this kind of teaching?" Her voice is deep. You can't detect any kind of humor in her tone. You steel yourself and nod. Her eyes lower into a glare and you do your best to keep your confidence up.

And then she smiles. "We can start later."

* * *

You're taking a walk in town. It's a little late out and it's gotten dark. Somehow, you feel more at peace here compared to your old one.

You like taking walks by yourself, even more when it's at night when you have only the noises of cars going by and the quiet chatter of nearby people. Your old neighborhood was a little dangerous so you didn't try to take walks at night but now you can. The only people you saw the entire walk were office workers leaving their shift or students who were having a good time after school.

You're still a little scared, of course. You never know what happens.

So when you hear nearby frantic rustling, you instantly jump into a sprint. You're glad that no one was around because you tripped and scraped your knee like a loser. When you pick yourself up and turn to see who it was, it was just an orange and white tabby cat wandering around. You curse yourself silently and decide to sit down on a park bench that was close by. It's illuminated by a street lamp, thankfully. Being in the dark with an injury doesn't sound nice.

You inspect your wound. It's just a scrape but it hurts like hell and is starting to bleed a bit. It gives you memories of your first day at your new school. You let out a sigh and lean back on the bench, closing your eyes and rethinking your life choices.

"Excuse me miss, are you alright?" You hear a sweet voice. You open your eyes and swear you saw an angel.

You raise your head as she steps back. You're at a loss for words because her smile is so, so cute. You force yourself to snap out of it though and stutter out an answer. "Ah, uh, yeah! I should be fine. This happens pretty often to me."

She gives you a look of sympathy and your heart drops. She starts digging into her bag and you take this time to examine her.

The girl has long ash brown hair with a side ponytail and an odd but cute fluff on her head. She's wearing a white dress and a pastel green jacket. Her eyes are amber-like and shine brightly under the lamp's light.

"Found it!" She pulls out a small white box. She puts down her bag beside you and opens the box, pulling out a packet and a bandage. "I'll fix you up, okay?"

You're embarrassed. "Oh no, I should take care of it myself when I get home! I couldn't let you-"

"Please don't worry. Let me take care of you." Her smile is gentle and calming. You stop any and all attempts of resist and just watch her as she prepares to patch up your wound.

She tears the packet open and pulls out a wet cloth. She crouches down beside your knee and then holds your hand, making your heart skip a beat from how soft it was. It reminded you of baby bird feathers. "It's going to hurt. You can squeeze my hand to endure the pain."

The cloth is patted against your wound and you hiss from how much it stings. You try not to squeeze her hand too hard. You suffer as quietly as you can while she finishes up, releasing her hand to grip the hem of your clothes. You let out a breath you didn't know you've been holding when she puts a large bandage over your scrape. You're surprised to see her kiss her fingertips and tap your bandage with it.

"A good luck charm to make it better!" She's cheerful and doesn't mind at all that she's doing it to a stranger. A blush makes its way to your cheeks and you can feel your heartbeat increasing a bit.

"Th- Thank you." Your eyes are still following her when she throws away her garbage and sits down beside you. You're not sure what to say now.

She speaks up quickly though. "I'm Minami Kotori. What's your name?"

"Oh, it's-"

A car driving by loudly honks their horn. It seemed to be loud enough to block out your voice so you silently hope that Kotori understood. You can tell from the blank look in her eyes that she didn't but she smiles regardless.

"I'm glad I could help you."

This moment plants a good memory in your heart.

* * *

 **A/N** : I do apologize for the late update along with the chapter not being of high enough quality. I struggled quite a bit with these three. It even took me over two months to write this.

I would like to ask those who have read this far: How are you enjoying this fanfic? Do you believe it's a good thing for the girls who love the Love Live girls? I wrote this to give something to the girls who love girls but I also need to be sure that this is something that they want.

Next chapter will feature the third years and hopefully there won't be a long waiting time. Please look forward to it.

P.S: If you have any questions, please feel free to message me. I would love to discuss the path of this fanfic with you all.

P.S.S: On the topic of a harem for the protagonist/falling for a single girl/etc: That's a secret.


	6. Chapter 3 - Third Time's

"Transfer Student!"

You were called just as you placed your bag on your desk. You turn to face the class president who's name you still haven't learned. She has a bright smile on her face and a book in her hands. She holds it out to you and you take it, reading the cover.

"Class log book?"

"You're on class duty today so you have to fill this out. You're new to Otonokizaka, right? Take your time filling it out. I'll be staying after school so you could turn it in by then. I look forward to your entry!" She runs off before you could say anything.

You sit down and stare at the book in your hands. You open it up to a bookmarked page, reading over it. Class performance, reports... You can't remember how to fill it out but maybe if you just randomly fill in blanks…

… You'll figure it out later. Today, you have to focus. You're falling behind and there's no time to space out.

* * *

"Due to a problem with the third year's lesson materials, today is a surprise Class Observation Day. It'll only last an hour so everyone, please don't be too upset." The teacher sighs as she grabs her papers, tapping them against her desk to straighten them out. "Third years, please be kind to our class."

"We will!"

Multiple groans ring across the room, the third years in the back giggling to themselves. Chatter starts to rise between friend groups in the class but you're absolutely confused. Being the transfer student that sits in the back, you haven't found the chance to talk to many about the school. You don't know the slightest thing about a class observation.

The teacher begins the lesson as usual. Everyone seems to just go about the daily schedule. You come to a conclusion that everything will be exactly the same, you just have people watching over your shoulder and judging you. The thought makes you nervous but you feel confident that you'll focus hard enough to understand. You're not very good at math but maybe you'll get lucky today.

You grab your pencil and prepare yourself to take notes.

* * *

"Class, please do questions five through ten on your own. These will be on the test this Friday so be prepared."

"Okay." The class speaks in unison. Your grip on your pencil loosens as the confidence you initially had starts to leave your body.

Alright, so you couldn't understand despite trying desperately to pay attention to every step. You look down at your messy notes and study how everything seems to go. The problem is asking for a simple solve and then gives you the equation, so the next step is to…

… It's no good. You can't understand at all. You let out a silent sigh and lean your head on your hand. You always hated this part of math class.

You look around the classroom. The third years seem to be chatting amongst themselves. You see one talking to Hanayo, occasionally shifting her gaze around the class. She has dark hair tied into pigtails, a hairstyle you remember seeing before. She gives off an intimidating aura but if she's talking to Hanayo, she has to be somewhat nice. You're a little curious about her but right now, you need to focus.

You look down at your notes and try to work it out again. You attempt to recite what the teacher has said but it still honestly doesn't make sense. In the middle of your desperate attempt to study, you start to feel a looming presence over you.

You turn to face a large bust blocking most of your vision.

"Oh? This is what they're teaching first years now? I didn't learn this until much later in the year…" A soothing voice speaks. You look up to see focused emerald eyes peering down at your textbook. The third year tucks a strand of violet hair behind her ear and points a finger at your book. "You see this problem? You have to use this formula here. Just plug in the numbers and you'll be able to get the solution quickly."

You followed her instructions, working through the problem slowly. Though it's a long problem, you're able to come to two answers for the formula. "Ah… so the answer is—"

"That's correct."

You feel a bit of joy swelling up in your chest. You've tried and tried again to understand this concept and you've finally gotten an answer right after so long. You turn to face the third year. "Thank you so much!"

The third year smiles. "It's not a problem. I love to help cute girls like you~"

… Huh? "Cute?"

She giggles and gives you a wink, a sly grin spreading on her face.

"Tojo-san, please stop flirting with my students."

"Okay~"

You look down at your notes, feeling your face heat up as she walks away. That was really odd. You just wanted to know how to do the problem. She called you cute? That was completely out of nowhere! You talked for two minutes and you barely even looked at her! You've never been called cute like that before, and the third year was really pretty…!

"Yazawa-san, I see you showing videos to Koizumi-san. Put your phone away."

* * *

You pack away your books as the final bell rings, another exhausting day coming to an end. You were given the class log book but you barely remember how to fill it out. The class president told you that she'll be staying behind for a while so you could turn it in later.

The other students are busy preparing to clean the classroom. Maki seems to have left already and Rin and Hanayo seem to be in their own world. You don't want to disturb anyone.

You decide to go to the student council later. Despite being busy with loads of paperwork, the student council president will be available to help just one student, right?

You're way too nervous about your first time on class duty. You filled out what you could in the class log. "Everyone cleaned excellently, today's lesson went smoothly," things like that went into the blank spaces. You weren't sure about some other things though. You were even too nervous about filling out the "Impressions of the day" part.

You're on your way to the student council now after a good ten minutes of fretting over the log. The student council president in your old school was useless so you had someone else fill out the rest for you most of the time. But maybe this time, you can get proper help with the log. You scan the labeled signs above the doors to find the room.

You bump into someone when you struggle to read some of the text on the signs. You immediately fumble an apology and bow your head low.

"Err, it's my fault for not paying attention..." The person's voice is soft and comforting. They're trying to speak over your quick apologies. "Please stand up straight. It's fine."

After you calm down, the person introduces herself. You immediately notice that she's a third year from her ribbon. Her name is Ayase Eli and she's the student council president, taking a short walk for a break.

When you ask for her help, she brings you to the student council room to give you a place to write in. She has you sit down at the table by the door, guiding you through the log.

"You write out what has happened in the classroom here." Eli pushes up against you, pointing at the spot on the sheet. "This sheet is supposed to summarize the day's events and how the class has progressed."

You're listening and processing the simple directions, but you have trouble concentrating. The student council president is very beautiful and you can't keep calm if she keeps getting too close. And her face is...

"Do you have any more questions?"

Her smooth and gentle voice is amplified from how close her face is to yours. You can feel your own heating up but you shake your head. "I think I understand."

"I'm glad. Well, if you run into anything else you don't understand, be sure to tell me. It's the duty of the student council president to help the students." She pats your shoulders and walks back to her seat. You can't help but notice her beautiful figure, making your face even redder. Eli is reliable, gorgeous, smart.

"She's ten times better than your last student council president." The thought swirls around in the back of your head.

Spontaneous human combustion isn't possible, right? You're starting to doubt that from how warm your face feels.

"Ericchi! I got the budget papers~" You're startled from the loud voice suddenly bursting in the room. You turn to find the source and see the violet-haired third year from earlier. Your face gets even hotter from the sight of her.

"Thank you, Nozomi." Eli hurries over and takes the papers. "Now we just need some papers from other club leaders. We'll go check on them once we finish work here." The third year who was referred to as Nozomi nods happily.

"Hm?" She seems to finally have noticed you. "Oh! It's the cute girl from this morning!"

* * *

You sigh, closing the class log book.

"So, while I was helping the teacher with the lesson for today, you were flirting with this student?" Eli crosses her arms. "Nozomi, you…"

"I couldn't help it! Isn't she super cute, Ericchi~?" The violet-haired girl grabs your shoulders and sways you around a bit. "You surely can't stop yourself from helping a wonderful girl like her, right~?"

"That's—!" Eli shouts but stops herself, clearing her throat. You can see her face starting to get red. "It's my duty as student council president to help everyone. She's no exception. Anyways, you're displaying improper behavior. Stop teasing her." Eli hurries over to her seat, grabbing a random stack of papers to sort out.

You can start to feel the air get heavy. "Um… I really do appreciate both of you helping me today. Ayase-san, thank you for helping me with the class log. And…" You turn to the third year behind you.

Her face seems relaxed but she also doesn't seem to be paying attention. After a bit, she realizes that you've been waiting for her to speak. "Oh! I'm Tojo Nozomi! Nice to meet ya!" She gives you a pat on the back. "Don't worry! You can always turn to your upperclassmen for help!"

You laugh a little. Grabbing the book and your bag, you hurry to the door. Before leaving, you turn to face the two. Eli appears to be absorbed in her work, her face still red, and Nozomi is happily seeing you off. "Thank you both for today."

"No problem~"

You leave before anything else could happen. You're not sure if your heart could handle any more of their company.

You're pretty glad that you have such beautiful upperclassmen to turn to though…!

* * *

You're finally leaving the school. You turned in the class log book and were able to impress the class president with how you filled it out. She was strangely optimistic but that didn't matter. You have to focus on getting ingredients for dinner tonight.

You stop by a store known for having good deals. You stop by the vegetable section first.

If you'll be completely honest, you have no idea what to look for. You always just saw your parents inspecting the fruits and vegetables in strange ways. Maybe luck will be on your side this time? They had you temporarily live alone to get a taste of adulthood and you should be able to do this simple task...

A quick glance at the stack of potatoes made you lose whatever hope you had.

Your bag over your shoulder and an empty basket hanging on your arm, you're absolutely sure that you look lost. You should have searched up what to look for before you came here. You can't rely on your smartphone either due to lack of signal in the store. You silently curse yourself for your actions.

"Huh? Hey you! You're the kid that Nozomi was messing with earlier, aren't you?" You hear a voice call out not too far from you. You turn to see the dark pigtailed third year from this morning. She looks mildly irritated. Although she gives off an uneasy air, she must be kind enough to be friends with Hanayo.

"Ah, yeah… I guess." At the mention of the girl's name, you can feel your heart beating just a bit faster.

She sighs and shakes her head. "I'm really sorry about her. She's too much sometimes." When she sees the confused look on your face, she continues to speak. "I'm Yazawa Nico and I'm her friend. I really am sorry for Tojo Nozomi's behavior."

You shake your head. "It's not a problem. She helped me with the lesson, after all. I'm glad that you upperclassmen are so kind." Nico seems to get a little embarrassed by your compliment, scratching the back of her head with the hand that's free from her own shopping basket. The sight is really cute.

… Oh, right. You're here to buy groceries and you're lost. You give a quick glance to the vegetables and back at Nico, who appears to be trying to figure out what to say next. You can rely on another upperclassman today, right? "Um…"

That seems to snap her out of her daze. "What is it?" Her tone is blunt and it's a little unsettling. You clear your throat and prepare yourself.

"Can you… help me find which vegetables are the best? I… haven't gone grocery shopping on my own before."

The bewildered expression upon Nico's face makes you regret ever speaking a single word in your life.

You mentally kick yourself for being an idiot. What kind of person doesn't know which vegetables to look for in a market? Stupid ass! Learn the basics!

You can feel your face heating up in shame but Nico sighs and picks up a bright orange carrot. "Look, pay attention when I'm speaking. You see this?" You nod. "Medium sized carrots are best for flavor. Large ones get in the way and are difficult to handle, smaller ones don't produce as much flavor." She puts down the vegetable and points at others.

"Cucumbers with more bumps taste better. When looking at potatoes, get the ones with no green tint or holes. The type of potato you want varies depending on how you cook it. When looking for lemons or limes, you have to squeeze them. The easier they are to squeeze, the juicier they are. Also, take a look at these..."

It's hard to follow along with all of Nico's instructions but they're easy to remember. The passion in her voice makes you hang onto her every word, her detailed instructions telling you that she's more than an angry-looking short upperclassman.

You're so glad about this moment.

* * *

"I can't believe there's an actual person who doesn't know what to look for when shopping…" Nico sighs as you two exit the market. "Who let you out of the house today? Geez."

"Sorry…" You mumble an apology. The bags in your hands are a bit heavy but you can handle them during the walk home. It seems that you and Nico are walking in the same direction.

"Well, you'll be fine now because of the great Nico-nii's tutoring! Your wonderful upperclassman can always be relied on for things like this!" She puffs her chest with pride, hands pushed against her hips with the bags hanging off them. You laugh a little from how bright her aura feels.

You stop in your tracks. Your heart swells a little with joy as Nico turns to see what you're doing. With a goofy smile on your face, you exclaim, "Thank you for today, Yazawa-senpai!"

Nico makes a strange noise as she's taken aback by your sudden attitude. She cools herself down however and clears her throat, turning away from you. "Whatever. At least you're not completely useless."

Even though you can't see, you're sure that she's smiling.

* * *

 **A/N** : Final Live is here so I rushed to finish this. Am I okay? Not really.

There's the final chapter for introductions. Now we'll move on to the main story line.

Thank you for reading this far. Let's look forward to a good plot.


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